Talk about a leg up.
Researchers say that taking a popular obesity medication and exercising regularly can lead to weight loss — and bone health is still maintained.
Bone loss typically accompanies large, rapid weight loss, which increases the risk of fractures. This is especially a concern for older adults.
But the authors of a new Danish study found that a combination of exercise and liraglutide preserves hip, spine and forearm bone mineral density. BMD is a measurement of calcium and other minerals in bone tissue.
Liraglutide alone reduces hip and spine BMD compared to just exercising, according to the study.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the effect of [liraglutide] and exercise on bone health both as separate treatments and in combination,” the researchers wrote in their findings, which were published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Liraglutide — sold under the brand names Victoza and Saxenda — is part of a class of GLP-1 drugs that treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes by decreasing appetite. Ozempic is part of this group.
Liraglutide has been previously shown to increase bone formation and prevent bone loss in obese women who have lost weight.
For this new study, 195 obese participants shed at least 5% of their body weight on an eight-week, very restrictive diet.
They were then assigned to one of four yearlong programs — a moderate to vigorous exercise routine, a daily dose of liraglutide, a combination of exercise and the drug, or a placebo injection.
The researchers found the exercise and liraglutide groups maintained the weight loss, the combination group shed additional pounds, and the placebo group regained weight.
Despite the additional weight loss, the combination group was still able to preserve bone health.
There were some limitations to the study — including that the participants didn’t have other chronic diseases, so the results may not translate to patients with diabetes or older people.
Still, the researchers say their “findings highlight the importance of combining exercise with [liraglutide] treatment for bone health.”
